Pirates to join league in 2014

Published: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 11:04 PM.

Leaving C-USA will cost the school $500,000 in initial fees, Ballard said, with other costs to be negotiated.

But membership in the Big East, which could potentially place the Pirates in BCS bowls and the four-team NCAA football playoff set to begin in 2014, was far more valuable.

“We were looking forward to helping Conference USA build and felt like that was going to be something that we would enjoy,” Holland said. “But the chance to help the Big East continue to build was a better opportunity.”

Earlier on Tuesday, C-USA member Tulane announced that it will become a full member of the Big East in 2014. ECU is the sixth C-USA school in two years to announce it is joining the Big East.

“We thank East Carolina and charter member Tulane for all their contributions to the league and wish them well,” C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said. “These are unprecedented times in higher education. Notwithstanding the changes, we are excited about our future and we remain committed to our strategic plan — a major market, two-division conference that is student-athlete friendly.”

Holland said efforts to find a conference for ECU’s other sports would begin immediately.

“That search will begin in earnest as soon as this press conference is over,” he said, declining to identify his potential targets.

GREENVILLE — It took years of trying and a tumultuous national environment, but East Carolina finally got its seat at the table.

The Pirates will depart Conference USA and join the Big East as a football-only member beginning in 2014, athletics director Terry Holland announced Tuesday.

ECU officials hope to work toward full membership in the future. Meanwhile, they’ll seek a conference home for the school’s 18 other sports.

Access to better bowl games, a larger revenue stream and a chance to renew old rivalries are some of the reasons listed by Holland for the move, which was facilitated directly by Rutgers’ departure from the Big East to join the Big Ten last week.

“We think we’ll add great value to the Big East, and we’re going to work very hard to make sure that we’re a great institutional member and a great football member of the Big East Conference,” ECU chancellor Steve Ballard said during a news conference. “This is a really good day for East Carolina University.”

ECU, which originally applied to join the Big East in September 2011, will become its 14th member. The league’s football teams will range geographically from ECU in the east to San Diego State in the west.

Leaving C-USA will cost the school $500,000 in initial fees, Ballard said, with other costs to be negotiated.

But membership in the Big East, which could potentially place the Pirates in BCS bowls and the four-team NCAA football playoff set to begin in 2014, was far more valuable.

“We were looking forward to helping Conference USA build and felt like that was going to be something that we would enjoy,” Holland said. “But the chance to help the Big East continue to build was a better opportunity.”

Earlier on Tuesday, C-USA member Tulane announced that it will become a full member of the Big East in 2014. ECU is the sixth C-USA school in two years to announce it is joining the Big East.

“We thank East Carolina and charter member Tulane for all their contributions to the league and wish them well,” C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky said. “These are unprecedented times in higher education. Notwithstanding the changes, we are excited about our future and we remain committed to our strategic plan — a major market, two-division conference that is student-athlete friendly.”

Holland said efforts to find a conference for ECU’s other sports would begin immediately.

“That search will begin in earnest as soon as this press conference is over,” he said, declining to identify his potential targets.

Current C-USA members Central Florida, Houston, Memphis and Southern Methodist will join the Big East beginning in 2013, along with Temple. Boise State and San Diego State will join and compete only in football. Navy will start Big East football play in 2015.

Big East commissioner Mike Aresco said the league’s TV contract is still being negotiated but contended that the move was the right one for ECU.

“The Big East has always been a conference of opportunity for new members, and the country will soon see more of East Carolina football and will appreciate its terrific program,” Aresco said.

Nick Floyd, ECU’s executive assistant AD, said ECU’s athletic officials were contacted by the Big East shortly after Rutgers left. Tuesday’s press conference came just 48 hours after the league’s initial official contact.

But the school’s efforts to join the Big East extend well beyond its unsuccessful application last fall, when a slew of conferences began to realign nationwide.

Syracuse and Pitt announced they were leaving the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference, tipping enough dominoes to render several leagues almost unrecognizable.

Floyd said he and his colleagues found success by staying the course after falling short last fall.

“No means no just at that point in time,” Floyd said. “You never give up in this business. We’re competitors. We stay after it, and we’re going to continue to compete and stay after it and do the things necessary to elevate our entire program.”

Ballard and Holland, speaking in a crowded conference room before a group of about 30 members of the media, said they had been working to join the Big East since Holland’s arrival eight years ago.

“I’ve been working on the Big East since I was 10,” Ballard joked.

Added a smiling Holland: “Seems like it.”

David Hall can be reached at (252) 559-1086 or at david.hall@kinston.com.